Lawn perforating machine



June 24:, 1947, H. :HELBIG LAWN PERFORATING MACHINE a Shets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25 1944 INVENTOEZUH HUGO HELBIG ATTORNEYS 3 Sheets-Sheet s H. HELBIG LAWN PERFORATING MACHINE Filed Oct. 25, 1944 June 24, 1947.

INVEN TOR HUGO HELBIG AT TORNEY S Patented June 24, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAWN PERFGRATING MACHINE Hugo Helbig, Racine, Wis.

Application October 25, 1944, Serial No; 560,212

4 Claims.

invention refers to lawn perforating machines and it has for its primary object to provide a simple, durable and economically constr-ucted machine, capable of materially increasing the speed and volume of punctures.

Specific objects are:

To provide a plurality of eccentric actuated yokes; the legs carrying a pair of spikes, the ecce'ntrics being progressively secured to a drive shaft in cycles, whereby a pair of spikes perform a puncturing operation step by step inci dental to travel of the machine.

To provide pairs of gear driven eccentrics upon which the yokes are mounted, whereby the same are horizontally guided and vertically reciprocated.

To provide synchronized propulsion of the 1nachine with movement of the spike carrying yokes, whereby the lawn is punctured or quilted in parallelogram blocks.

To provide a propelled carriage for supporting the machine arranged with means, whereby said machine may be manually lowered for work and raised to clear the spikes from the ground for transportation from place to place.

To provide a driven carriage for supporting the machine having front and rear rollers and means for raising and lowering the machine upon the carriage.

To provide a machine having a housing encasing the pairs of driven eccentrics, engaging a Web portion of a, vertical standard extending through an opening of the housing, all of which standards are attached to a flexible bellows secured to the housing opening, whereby a sealed closure for the eccentrics is had adapted to receive a lubricating fluid. The standards serving assupports for the yokesl With the above and other minor objects in view, my invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts as will be fully set forth hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 represents a side elevation of a machine embodying the features of my invention, with parts broken away to more clearly illustrate structural features.

Figure 2 a longitudinal sectional view through the machine as indicated by line 2--2 of Figure 3.

Figure 3 a plan view of the machine. with parts broken away and in section to more clearly show structural features.

Figure 4 a cross-section vleW,.t-he sectionrbe ing indicated "by line 4-4 of Figure 1.

Figure 52a diagrammatic elevation illustrating the position of'a group of eccentrics about their LtX'lS;

Figure 6 adiagrammatic View illustrating the step by step movement of one of the yoke carryi'ng spikes,- and Figure 7 a diagnamma-tlcplan view illustrating a complete lawn punctured area.

Referring by characters to the drawings, l'--l are the side plates of a frame formed .at the lower front and rear ends with axle slots-2, into which are mounted front and rear axles 3-3. The axles carry front and rear ground rollers i- 4 and the ends :of said axles project through the plates and have secured thereto reach-bars 5, which bars are tiedtoget'her by transverse braces 5'. These bars and associated' parts form a carriage for the support of the machine frame.

Mounted between the; plates is a motor .A having a drivingshaft B, which shaft,- as best shown in Figure 3, carries :a pulley C. The pulley is in belt drive connection with :apulley'whee l 6, which pulley wheel is mounted :on a stud shaft 6 journaled in the side plate I". The inner end of stud shaft has-secured thereto a pinion 1, as best shown in Figures 2 and 4,

The pinion meshes with a gear wheel :8, which gear wheel is secured-to a shaft 9 journaled in the side plates. A similar shaft I-D, arranged parallel with the first mentioned shaft, is also journaled'in the side plates. Motion 'is'impar-ted to'th'e shaft [0 through anidle pinion H'fixed to the side plate I and it meshes with a corresponding gear wheel 8", which gear wheel is secured to the shaft H3. Hence; power from the engine is transmitted to the pair of shafts 9 and ID. The power f'romthe engine is transmittedto the roller "4" by means of a, back gear train, as will be seen in Figures 1, 3 and l.

Referring particularly to Figure 1 of the drawings the shaft 9 hassecured thereto a'pinion [2,

which pinion meshes with a gear wheel I Sthat also carries a pinion 1 4. The double faced gear is mounted on a stud IS. The pinion l4 meshes with a gear wheel IE, which gear-wheel is secured to a revolvab'le 'stud shaft ll that is j'ournaled in the side plate and its projecting outer end has secured theretoa sprocket l8.

As best-shown in Figures 1 and 3, the. roller shaft -3 has seoured thereto a sprocket 18', which sprocket is connected with the sprocket 18 by :a chain belt [8", whereby slow motion is-transmittedfrom the engine to the ground roller 4',

it being noted that said ground roller is provided with a pivoted scraper blade a.

The reach-bars of the carriage have pivoted thereto bell crank levers l9-l9 and said levers are connected by links 20-20. The rear bell cranks l9, as best shown in Figure 1 of the drawings, are formed with lever extensions 2|, said levers being transversely connected by a rod 22, whereby the same are manually rocked back and forth.

The ends of the bell cranks iS-IS have mounted thereon rollers 23, which rollers support the side plates of the frame by their engagement with horizontally disposed projecting ears 24. When the lever extensions are manually actuated, it will be noted that the rollers, which engage the ears 2'4, will raise the entire frame with reference to the carriage, which movement is permitted due to the slots 2 that will move upwardly upon the shafts 3-3. Likewise when the lever L extensions are actuated in a reverse direction they will cause the frame of the machine to drop by gravity to the position shown in Figures 1 and 2.

It should be understood that when the frame of the machine is lifted, with reference to the carriage, it will be locked in said position by spring controlled dogs 25, which are pivoted to the side plates and said dogs will thus lock the lever extensions 2! in a depressed position, as indicated in dotted lines, whereby a tooth 2|, extending from each lever extension, will engage the dogs. It is understood in order to release the raised and locked position of the frame, the dogs are simply tripped to disengage the said lever extensions.

For guiding the machine in its forward travel the side plates are provided with a pair of handles 26, which will control the machine as the operator walks rearwardly of it.

The driven shafts 9 and I have mounted thereon a series of spaced eccentrics 21-41, which eccentrics are disposed about the shafts in groups of 4 equal distance apart, as best shown in Figure 5 of the drawings.

Referring particularly to Figure 2, a pair of eccentrics are positioned at their vertical high point with reference to the shafts 9 and I0 and, therefore, due to their gear connection, they revolve in synchrony with the shafts, as indicated by the arrows. centrics would be set upon the shafts at an angle of 90 followed by the third set in vertical alignment with the first set, and the series is completed by a fourth set in horizontal alignment with the second eccentric set. As indicated in Figure 4, the machine is provided with two sets of eccentrics in the cycle indicated by Figure 5.

Mounted upon each pair of aligned eccentrics is a web 28 of a vertically disposed standard 29. Each of the standards 29 have secured to their upper ends, by a, suitable coupling, a tubular yoke 30 and the legs 3| of the yokes, which are spaced a predetermined distance apart, carry sod piercing spikes 32. As noted in Figure 2, they are at their highest position with reference to the ground line.

In order to protect the gang of eccentrics from dust or other foreign substance, the said eccentrics are encased in a housing 33. The ends of the housing are secured to the side plates |l' by angle iron bands 34 suitably packed at their joints to maintain a volume of oil in the bottom of the housing, whereby all moving parts therein are suitably lubricated.

To permit freedom of action with reference to The next pair of the eca the standards 29, which carry the yokes, the top portion of the housing is formed with an opening 33'. In order to permit free movement of the standards, both horizontally and vertically. and to render the housing substantially dust-proof, I provide a bellows-like hood 35, which is secured to a flange about the housing opening and also to each standard directly under the yokes thereof, it being understood that the flexible housin is dust or water proof.

As shown particularly in Figure 1 of the drawings, the machine is lowered with relation to the carriage in its working or sod perforating position. In order to compensate for lengthening and shortening the chain belt 18 when the carriage is raised to its position of transportation or lowered for work, I provide a belt tightener pulley 36, which is mounted upon a longitudinally slotted arm 31, the same being connected by a pivot bolt 38 to the frame plate I. The arm 2? is extended transversely of the raising and lowering lever 21 and said lever carries a stud 39, which engages the arm slot. Hence, it will be observed that when the machine is in the working position, the pulley for the chain is functionin to take up the slack therein.

When the machine is raised by the lever extension 2 l, the stud of said 1ever will travel in the arm slot and depress said arm to the position indicated in dotted lines to permit lengthening of the chain belt 18".

From the foregoing description it should be noted that I have developed, so far as my knowl-- edge, a method for spiking sod by employing pairs of spikes, each of which are operated to perforate the sod at spaced intervals, for example, 3 times the distance between the pairs of spikes, whereby the perforations are staggered with relation to th pairs. This feature eliminates the possibility of perforating the lawn in the same hole or holes. In the operation of the (machine it is obvious that the synchronized driven pairs of eccentrics in each rotation will effect a puncturing operation and due to the fact that the machine is moving, the action of the eccentrics will tend to move the yoke backwardly, to compensate for the forward movement of the carriage, whereby the punctures are clean cut.

The above feature is clearly illustrated in the diagram view of Figure 6 of the drawings, wherein eight reVOlutiOhS of a single yoke are illustrated. The first circle 1) indicates the forward puncture of a yoke, and said circular punctures are repeated throughout the eight revolutions. The rear yoke spike, indicated by a black circle c, as it enters the sod at c it will stagger the perforations throughout until the eight revolutions are completed, as indicated at d.

While I have shown and described one form of my invention specifically as to detail, it is understood that I may vary the structural features within the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A sod perforating machine comprising a carriage having front and rear rollers, a motor mounted on the carriage in gear connection with the rear roller, a pair of parallel shafts journaled in the frame upon the same horizontal plane, pairs of eccentrics secured to the shafts disposed at equal distances apart along said shafts, a gear connection between the motor and shafts, standards extending upwardly from the eccentrics having webs engaging each pair of the same,

and yokes secured to the upper ends of the standards having depending legs carrying spikes.

2. A sod perforating machine comprising a frame having side plates provided with front and rear vertically disposed slots, axles mounted in the slots, rollers secured to the axles, a carriage having reach-bars mounted upon the axles, front and rear bell crank levers pivoted to the reach-bars, companion arms of the bell crank levers engaging the frame, links connecting the other arms of said bell crank levers, the rear set of the aforesaid bell crank levers being extended upwardly and cross connected for raising and lowering the frame with respect to the carriage, shafts journaled in the frame, eccentrics mounted upon said shafts, a motor carried by the frame in gear connection with the shafts, and spike carrying yokes operatively connected to the eccentrics.

3. A sod perforating machine comprising a fram having side plates provided with front and rear vertically disposed slots, axles mounted in the slots, rollers secured to the axles, a carriage having reach-bars mounted upon the axles, front and rear bell crank levers pivoted to the reach-bars, companion arms of the bell crank levers engaging the frame, links connecting the other arms of said bell crank levers, the rear set of the aforesaid bell crank levers being extended upwardly and cross connected for raising and lowering the frame with respect to the carriage, shafts journaled in the frame, eccentrics mounted upon said shafts, a motor carried by the frame in gear connection with the shafts, webs mounted upon companion pairs of the eccentrics, standards extending upwardly from the webs, yokes secured to the ends of the standards, and vertically disposed spikes carried by the yokes.

4. A sod perforating machine comprising a frame having side plates provided with front and rear vertically disposed slots, axles mounted in the slots, rollers secured to the axles, a carriage having reach-bars mounted upon the axles, front and rear bell crank levers pivoted to the reach-bars, companion arms of the bell crank levers engaging the frame, links connecting the other arms of said bell crank levers, the rear set of the aforesaid bell crank levers being extended upwardly and cross connected for raising and lowering the frame with respect to the carriage, shafts journaled in the frame, eccentrics mounted upon said shafts, a motor carried by the frame in gear connection with the shafts, webs mounted upon companion pairs of the eccentrics, standards extending upwardly from the Webs, a housing secured to the frame sides about the eccentrics having openings through which the standards extend, flexible bellows secured to the housing opening and engaging said standards, yokes extending from the ends of said standards, and spikes carried by the yoke arms.

HUGO HELBIG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,299,378 Cain Oct. 20, 1942 2,193,575 Thompson Mar. 12, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 1,153 Great Britain 1856 323,114 Germany July 22, 1920 117,155 France Mar. 2, 1877 160,330 Germany May 26, 1905 

